Elapsed
by GIA-B
Summary: A Shuis. Luis has left Sheridan and Sheridan is in pain, and seeks refuge in a peculiar place.


This story has been in the making for a while, on and off. I also  
assumed Luis was 28 so just go with it.  
****  
Sheridan Crane grumbly got up out of bed. She hadn't been out  
side her room in eight days. The only time she ever even  
opened the door was to pick up the tray of food Pilar had left for  
her.  
  
Everyone begged her to come out, but she had always refused.  
Even Julian had asked her to come out. But of course it was so  
that it didn't make the family look bad. Luis hadn't asked her to  
come out. That probably hurt the most. She knew he would  
never speak to her again, and it hurt so much at that realization.  
  
But today was going to be different. She was going to get up  
and do something. In fact she knew exactly what she was  
going to do and, if she needed to, she would take all day.  
  
Sheridan climbed into her car and drove slowly down the  
highway. Luis would be proud at her sense of control behind  
the wheel. He had always warned her when it came to driving,  
and now that she had finally gotten it right, she wished that he  
were there to commend her. But he wasn't, and never would  
be.   
  
He had left her for good.  
  
She navigated her vehicle into an empty space at the entrance  
to her destination. Steel gates greeted her, but squeaked in  
agitation when she pushed them open.  
  
"Someone should grease those." She said aloud. As if it made  
any difference, no one paid any attention to her here. They were  
all to consumed in their activities.   
  
She walked slowly along the path, admiring the structures that  
cluttered the ground around her. Some were huge and she  
admired them from afar. For she felt intimidated around them,  
and decided to keep her distance.  
  
The path narrowed a bit and came to a clearing. The land here  
was hardly used, and she could tell that the structures here  
were much newer then the ones at the front. She continued to  
walk along the gravel path, but soon came to an abrupt stop.  
She turned right and paused then kept going, only this time  
cutting across.   
  
When she neared her destination, her heart started to beat  
faster. Her pace slowed and her heart quickened. Her paced  
slowed to a crawl, before stopping completely. She looked  
down at her feet, hoping that the earth would open up and  
swallow her whole. She stared just to the left of her left foot.  
  
"Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald. 1972 - 2000." She read aloud. Her heart  
felt like it had flat lined and she burst into tears.  
  
******  
Nine Days Prior  
******  
"Wow Luis, really?" The sarcasm dripped off Sheridan Crane's  
question like ice cream on a hot day in July. She smiled to let  
him know she was only kidding.  
  
She was genuinely happy. She and Luis had discussed their  
feelings, but had decided that despite the fact that both wanted  
it, chose not to move forward at this time. They had kissed a  
few times, but nothing ever got really heated.   
  
She would kiss him whenever she needed to, and vice versa,  
but the kisses were to be chaste and innocent. For now. Once  
everything in their lives was resolved, then they would move  
forward.  
  
At this exact moment, Sheridan had been teasing Luis about  
knowing so much about Manta Rays. He had told her that they  
were magnificent creatures, which brought with it an obviously  
sarcastic remark from Sheridan. It was late and they were  
sitting on the couch, lazily flipping through channels when they  
came across a presentation on the aforementioned sea  
creature.  
  
Sheridan yawned soundlessly, and curled closer to Luis, as he  
described the mating habits of the manta ray. When he realized  
his audience had dozed out on him, he gently poked the left  
side of her cheek.  
  
"Wake up." He whispered. He poked her again and her cheek  
twitched. She yawned again and then her eyes fluttered open.  
  
"Hi." She said, her voice muffled with sleep. He smiled at her.  
  
"Hi." He replied. He leaned his head down and she lifted her  
ups, and their lips met in a chaste kiss. He pulled back and  
smiled again. Then leaned down and kissed her again. His  
lips opened above hers and she pulled back.  
  
"Uh-uh." She said shaking her head gently. "Remember,  
chaste and innocent." She smiled and he smiled back. He  
stood up and held out his hand and she took it willingly. He  
walked her to her room and kissed her quickly at the door.  
When the door had clicked into place, he then returned to the  
couch.  
  
"She'll be the death of me."  
  
***  
That night Luis was having a terrible dream. He dreamt that the  
drug cartel had hired another hit man and they had come for  
Sheridan in the night, and he watched her die.   
  
He whimpered loudly and it stirred Sheridan awake. She  
climbed out of bed and went to check on Luis. He was asleep  
on her couch, in the throes of a bad dream.   
  
She kneeled before him and held his hand. He physically  
calmed and then his eyes fluttered open. She saw pain and  
fear in his gaze, and when he muttered her name, it was her  
undoing.   
  
He kissed away her tears and then kissed her mouth.   
  
"I should be the one crying and scared, not you. Not my strong  
willed beauty. My touchstone and the only one who owns my  
heart." His declaration only brought with it more tears, which he  
again kissed away.   
  
She sat up and he pulled her down. They kissed and kissed,  
the heat escalating to a hilt. Sheridan ultimately broke the kiss,  
but she had no intention of stopping what was happening. In  
stead she led him to her bedroom. The door closed with an  
inaudible click.  
  
***  
Sheridan lay in the circle of his arms. Their eyes had stayed  
open, and Sheridan had known from that point on that Luis  
was in fact the only one she was meant to love. Their joining  
had been explosive and Luis had whispered, "Love you, always  
and forever." She had kissed him her response, in hopes that  
the kiss would convey what words could not.  
  
Luis was asleep and his arms were around Sheridan loosely.  
He kissed the nape of her neck and smiled when she  
snuggled in closer to him. This was perfect.  
  
Luis heard a noise. He immediately covered Sheridan's body  
with his own. She squealed and he covered her mouth with his  
hand and told her to be quiet. The fear in her eyes scared him  
so much, that he wanted to cry and take it all away.  
  
He heard footsteps approaching the bedroom and Luis  
reached for his gun, which lay next to Sheridan's cell phone on  
the nightstand. He scrambled off Sheridan and grabbed her  
cell phone off the nightstand. He shoved her into the bathroom,  
with a responding yelp from her. The door closed and Luis  
posed to attack. Luis had only to wait for a moment, before two  
men burst through the door.  
  
***  
  
Sheridan hadn't ever been so scared in her whole life. She  
dialed the police department the moment the bathroom door  
closed. She got a hold of an officer and reported what was  
happening. When she hung up the phone, she was in near  
hysterics. She grabbed her massive blow drier, as a last-ditch  
attempt at a weapon.   
  
Tears had sprung in her eyes, and tumbled down her cheeks  
leaving wet trails on her fair skin. She could do nothing but  
wait. She clamped her hands over her ears, in an attempt to  
block out everything that was happening. She closed her eyes,  
and sang a song. She heard a sharp and short sound. She  
sang louder, and her voice drowned out more commotion that  
was growing in her bedroom. She heard more then two people  
now.   
  
A lot of shouting, two gun shots, and loud feet were all that she  
had heard through her insatiable singing. A minute later, the  
door swung open and two officers walked in cautiously. She  
looked up and everything she was feeling and thinking played  
in her eyes. The officers both dropped their eyes and stepped  
out of line of vision. She looked past them, into her bedroom.  
When her eyes focused more she saw the worst sight she had  
ever seen.  
  
Luis lay, bloody and battered, in the tight grasp of death.  
Sheridan lost it then.  
  
******  
Present  
******  
"Hello Luis." She said, as she took a seat next to his white  
head stone. "I miss you so much. I love you so much too. Did I  
ever tell you that? I'm sure I did, and if not I know you know  
anyway."  
  
She sighed, and tears were forming on her eyes.   
  
"I would have visited sooner but I refused to get out of bed. The  
world is so much more chaotic without you. But I made an effort  
to come out today. I was supposed to have lunch with Julian  
and Ivy. But I'm canceling it, and spending the day with you.  
Nothing matters but you, everything else seems trivial."  
  
She let some of her tears fall down her already damp chin and  
cheeks.  
  
"I have some good news, well I know you don't like Ethan, but  
Theresa and Ethan are together now. You should see how  
happy your sister is, she radiates love and happiness. Ethan is  
so in love with her. And get this When Ethan told Gwen he  
couldn't marry her, she was actually relieved. Apparently she  
had been seeing someone, with out her parents consent and  
he had asked her to marry him."  
  
She glanced around at everything surrounded her.   
  
"It's very beautiful here you know? Your mother picked a very  
nice lot. I love you. But I'm positive I mentioned that already  
Come back. I mean, forget about the drug cartel and come  
back. You can do that right?" She was crying hard now. "I know  
you can't I drove all the way here without any accidents. Are you  
proud of me? I hope so. I love you like no other I have ever  
loved, or ever will."   
  
Hours had passed and Sheridan had told Luis everything that  
had gone on that she knew about. Considering she hadn't left  
her room in eight days. She sighed, and when she noticed the  
descending sun she sighed again.  
  
She kissed her fingertips and placed it over the picture that  
graced the center of the head stone.  
  
"Love you forever and always." With that she left. She didn't  
once look back, she knew she would die inside all over again if  
she did. 


End file.
